1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gray water recycling systems and, more particularly, to valve assemblies for recycling systems that recirculate gray water from wash basins, tubs, and showers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gray water is generally defined as water that is allowed to empty down the drain pipes of wash basins, tubs, and showers after being used for washing or rinsing, and that is ordinarily discarded and allowed to flow from the drain pipe into a sewer line. Thus, gray water from a sink or tub in a residence is lost to the resident after it flows down the drain. Because of water shortages and increasing demand for water, there is an increasing awareness of the need to conserve water and of the wastefulness of discarding gray water. As a result, gray water recycling systems are gaining favor.
Recycling systems divert gray water from being discarded and instead use the gray water for such non-critical uses as toilet tanks. Recycling systems typically filter the gray water and direct it via a pump to a holding tank that is elevated to create a sufficient head of pressure that the gray water can be used, for example, to operate a toilet tank water valve. After flushing, water from the toilet tank conventionally flows into the sewer line for treatment at a special facility. Such recycling systems can greatly decrease water consumption, but also can be quite complicated to install and difficult to retrofit to existing plumbing.
Contributing to the complexity and difficulty of installing gray water recycling systems is that, often, many non-standard plumbing fixtures and components are used and extensive modifications to existing plumbing are necessary. A gray water recycling system is more desirable and feasible if it can utilize as many existing, standard components as possible and if it requires minimal modification of existing plumbing. Many gray water recycling systems require complete renovation of plumbing with entirely new sinks, tubs, or toilets, or require complicated valve assemblies to direct water between gray water holding tanks and sewer lines. These requirements can be sufficiently expensive and time consuming to meet that they discourage efforts at recycling gray water.
Another problem encountered with typical recycling systems concerns control over the gray water. There might be occasions in which the water from a wash basin, tub, or shower should not be allowed to flow into a holding line. For example, if certain cleaning agents or dyes are being used, it might be preferable to allow the gray water to empty into the sewer line for proper treatment at a sewage treatment facility. Thus, it is advantageous to provide control over the flow of gray water at the wash basin, tub, or shower. It also is advantageous if a standard fixture can be used with as little modification as possible, to help reduce the cost and time to incorporate gray water recycling systems into new and existing construction.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that there is a need for a recycling system that can recycle gray water with a minimum modification to existing plumbing, using as many existing components as possible, without requiring replacement of entire fixtures. The present invention satisfies this need.